Posted: 6/6/2012 12:46:55 PM EDT
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My father gave me his old muzzle loader and now I have to clean it up. Just wondering the best way to do this since it is the first one I have ever owned. It sat in his basement for 2 years and has some rust on most of it. What are some of the things that you do to clean yours? |
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I just use CLP for cleaning them.
I do use a BP solvent when I'm cleaning them after shooting them though. The one that TC makes works fine and you can find it just about everywhere. Other than that it's not very different than cleaning any other long gun. Is it a percussion or flint lock? |
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If that gun was fired and uncleaned for two years the barrel is going to be pitted if he was shooting BP.
My traditional Kentucky long rifle disassembled immediately after shooting. Then gets a warm soap and water brush down. Then copper brush down the barrel. Then the whole rifle and lock get blown out with a compressor and wiped down with ballistol. Then run patches down the barrel with Ballistol untill they come out clean. |
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Quoted:
My father gave me his old muzzle loader and now I have to clean it up. Just wondering the best way to do this since it is the first one I have ever owned. It sat in his basement for 2 years and has some rust on most of it. What are some of the things that you do to clean yours? Hot water is your friend. Use hot water to clean all the parts exposed to BP or its substitutes and the resultant fouling, then clean everything normally. What kind is it? |
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Quoted:
My father gave me his old muzzle loader and now I have to clean it up. Just wondering the best way to do this since it is the first one I have ever owned. It sat in his basement for 2 years and has some rust on most of it. What are some of the things that you do to clean yours? Hot, soapy water. Dawn, Murphy's Oil Soap, whatever the lil' woman has by the laundry tub in the basement. I fill a bucket, then use the brass brush to pull water through the barrel a buncha times. Dry, then oil. |
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Quoted:
If that gun was fired and uncleaned for two years the barrel is going to be pitted if he was shooting BP. My traditional Kentucky long rifle disassembled immediately after shooting. Then gets a warm soap and water brush down. Then copper brush down the barrel. Then the whole rifle and lock get blown out with a compressor and wiped down with ballistol. Then run patches down the barrel with Ballistol untill they come out clean. This Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Quoted: I just use CLP for cleaning them. I do use a BP solvent when I'm cleaning them after shooting them though. The one that TC makes works fine and you can find it just about everywhere. Other than that it's not very different than cleaning any other long gun. Is it a percussion or flint lock? Percussion the place where the primer goes is where the rust is the worst. |
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Quoted: Its a cheap one. A wolf made in Spain.Quoted: My father gave me his old muzzle loader and now I have to clean it up. Just wondering the best way to do this since it is the first one I have ever owned. It sat in his basement for 2 years and has some rust on most of it. What are some of the things that you do to clean yours? Hot water is your friend. Use hot water to clean all the parts exposed to BP or its substitutes and the resultant fouling, then clean everything normally. What kind is it? |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I just use CLP for cleaning them. I do use a BP solvent when I'm cleaning them after shooting them though. The one that TC makes works fine and you can find it just about everywhere. Other than that it's not very different than cleaning any other long gun. Is it a percussion or flint lock? Percussion the place where the primer goes is where the rust is the worst. The nipple can be replaced. Further, you should remove it to give the gun a good cleaning, it will make things much easier. They sell nipple wrenches in the muzzle loading section of most shops and they don't cost much. If you plan to shoot the gun much you will want all of the assorted odds and ends that are necessary to make life easier. |
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Quoted: If that gun was fired and uncleaned for two years the barrel is going to be pitted if he was shooting BP. My traditional Kentucky long rifle disassembled immediately after shooting. Then gets a warm soap and water brush down. Then copper brush down the barrel. Then the whole rifle and lock get blown out with a compressor and wiped down with ballistol. Then run patches down the barrel with Ballistol untill they come out clean. Sounds like I should clean it like my Mil Surps after shooting corrosive ammo. And it hasnt been fired all but 3 times and he cleaned it after each time. Just let it sit in the damp basement for a few years. |
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2 days without cleaning after firing is waaaayy too long for a BP gun, let alone 2 years. Eeek.
I actually use a liberal amount of Windex and cleaning patches on the ramrod jag to clean the crud out of my barrel and breech bolt. Does a great job. Read about it on one of the muzzleloading forums. Then just finish off cleaning and lubing it like a regular gun. I try to get cleaning that night after it's been fired or the first thing in the morning. That corrosion ain't no joke. |
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Quoted: The nipple can be replaced. Further, you should remove it to give the gun a good cleaning, it will make things much easier. They sell nipple wrenches in the muzzle loading section of most shops and they don't cost much. If you plan to shoot the gun much you will want all of the assorted odds and ends that are necessary to make life easier. I have all the odds and ends along with all the powder and sabots he had for it. |
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several additions. Remove the barrel from the stock (most have a pin that holds stuff together - nipple wrench usually has a pry bar for that) and remove the nipple from the barrel (use a nipple wrench). Use a correct sized jag and a cotton patch. Put chamber side of barrel in bucket of HOT soapy water. First push down will burp it, then work the jag/rag like a pump to suck water into and out of the barrel through the hole the nipple screws into. If the water is hot enough, it will not take long till you can not hold the barrel anymore. Brush with rag might work too - better at cleaning, worse at moving the water. Good thing about black powder - it cleans easy. The fake black - not so much. Expect some ugly colors on the rag. Work over everything else with tooth brushes. 50/50 buy a new nipple. ––- fwiw, my barrel comes off my action very easily as well - so the action does not get submerged. I periodically take the action apart to clean it - but often just go over the exposed parts with oil. ––––- For our Jr club, the guns are cleaned after each match shot (same day). They are cleaned again the day after the match, again the week after, and again the month after. Corrosion sucks for target rifles. |